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2020 Budget Defence: Senate Committee on Marine Transport meets NIWA, Maritime Academy

Published

4 years ago

November 4, 2020

Joel Ajayi

The Senate Committee on Marine Transport on Tuesday met the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) over their performances in the 2020 budget and the 2021 proposed budget.

The Managing Director of NIWA, Dr. George Moghalu, in his address, said that the Authority’s total Appropriation for the year 2020 was N6, 349,834,548, made up of recurrent estimates of N877,941,048 while capital estimates of N5,471,893,500.

” This implies that the recurrent budget constitutes 13.8 percent and capital estimates 86 2 percent of the total 2020 budget Appropriation for implementation.

“However, a recent review of the utilization revealed that about N591,121,713.73 representing 67.3 percent of the total recurrent budget was utilized while N844,891,399.63 which constitutes about 15.4 percent of the total capital budget was utilized as at October 2020.

“Though the financial performance stood at 76.3 percent of the total Capital budget, actual project implementation performance for the period was very poor owing to delay in capital releases occasioned by the COVID19 pandemic that posed a very great global economic threat, the Authority’s drive to actualize its objectives which remain the primary focus with the fiscal year yet to elapse.”

Moghalu, however, said that a total of N6,625,057,455 was proposed for 2021 for favorable considerations stating that it hopes to complete all on-going projects and enhance revenue generation.

“I, therefore, conclude that in line with the Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP) of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Authority reiterates its determination now more than ever to upscale the development of Inland Water Transportation in Nigeria.

“I, therefore, seize this opportunity to appeal to Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee to use your good offices to ensure and facilitate a conducive financial and legal environment that will provide the boost needed for NIWA to achieve its full potentials,” he said.

Commodore Duja Emmanuel Effedua (Rtd), the Rector of Maritime Academy of Nigeria said that N2, 163, 692, 734 was appropriated for 2020 while N1,561,001,781 was released.

He stated that the total sum of N2, 254,341,534 was proposed for 2021.

According to him, the total recurrent estimates for 2021 were N1,165,939,238 while total Capital estimates were N1,088,402,296.

Effedua said that most of the projects at the academy were ongoing because of non- completion by the past administration, stating that 99 percent of what was released in 2020 has been utilized.

He noted that until all the ongoing projects were completed, no new projects would commence at the academy.

Speaking, Sen. Danjuma Goje, Chairman of the Committee said that the two organizations should give a breakdown of the percentage of the ongoing projects to be able to ascertain the level of completion of each project to avoid seeing the same projects next year.

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RMRDC: Making Giant Strides Under Prof. Nnanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso

Published

17 hours ago

September 19, 2024

The Gleamer

By Joel Ajayi

As we embark on a journey, we always pray for an able, experienced, and courageous driver, pilot, or sailor depending on the means of transportation.

This is because the captain will have enough experience and boldness to navigate out of turbulence and to bring all the passengers and crew to the intended destination.

Interestingly, these fine qualities of ability, experience, boldness, and many more, abound in the man, Prof. Nnanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso, who we all are pleased was appointed the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, RMRDC, the Director General/CEO by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a few months ago. This is because he has brought his knowledge, ability, experience, and doggedness to bear in carrying out his assignment in charge of the Council.

The RMRDC, operating under the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology, is pivotal in driving Nigeria’s industrial growth by optimizing local raw materials exploitation, development, and utilization. RMRDC, ab initio, was conceived as a child of necessity when Nigeria was reeling from the throes of global recession and plummeting crude oil prices.

Without an iota of doubt, today, the council is experiencing a transformation with massive innovation in raw material exploitation, development, and utilization, supporting business and industrial growth, and contributing to Nigeria’s economic prosperity.

Speaking during a press briefing on Tuesday, in Abuja to commemorate his 100 days in office, he said the council is laying a solid foundation through numerous innovations that will further enhance growth in the country.

According to him, “In the past 100 days, my strategic pursuits have been to lay solid foundations for enduring success in these goals.

“Upon assuming this position, I set five crucial deliverables which include, refocusing the Council as a premier research institution; Strengthening the Council’s productivity and operational efficiency; and Significantly improving the staff welfare to be the best in the class of similar organizations.

“Others include, Boosting the Council’s visibility and instituting remarkable culture change that encourages ownership and productivity as well as Strengthening and deepening the Council’s place in the international arena.”While speaking on his Achievements so far, the DG revealed further: “My first task, therefore, was to implement a strategic goal-setting for the Council’s staff to define and set out clear objectives and targets to be achieved by the Council within a specified period towards refocusing on this historical mandate. We unleashed five significant initiatives in that regard.

“The nationwide raw material data collection exercise that focused on technical and investment information to drive our mission forward.

“The restructuring and renaming of the former Technology Innovation Complex (TIC), at the Obasanjo Space Center at Airport Road, Abuja, to a Research and Demonstration Plants Complex (RDPC). This complex will be Africa’s first center of excellence in raw material research, featuring state-of-the-art laboratories, technology development workshops, and proof of concept demonstrations.

“We have reactivated the Council’s Journal and repositioned it internationally. The repositioned Journal of Raw Material Research (JORMAR) will host RMRDC’s researchers’ publications, which are crucial in promoting awareness, facilitating knowledge sharing, and informing stakeholders about the opportunities and challenges in Nigeria’s raw materials sector. “The collaboration with universities and academies will strengthen our capacity for conducting market-guided research, ensuring sustained workforce training while deepening our orientation in science.

“The council has reformulated a new template for all our research proposals to ensure and sustain a clear departure from the old culture of blue-sky and deliberately endless research.”Speaking further, Prof Nwanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso stated that Staff welfare remains a top priority as an issue of unpaid salaries is settled as well as set up a comprehensive welfare program. “Similarly, we established the RMRDC Training School to sustainably build our staff and stakeholders’ capacity to further the staff welfare improvement goal.

“We are committed to openness, inclusiveness, and performance management and have initiated steps to continuously improve staff ownership, orchestrate transformative culture change, boost our corporate visibility, and enhance.

“To further strengthen our visibility and communication strategies, we are upgrading our media infrastructure, which includes the launch of the RMRDC online media platform, The RMRDC TV Online.

“Additionally, we are working hard to effectively enhance the intellectual property and patent portfolio of RMRDC from its current 40 to approximately 200 new patents within the next 24 months. This proactive approach secures valuable IP assets and positions the Council as a leader in innovation within the raw materials sector, contributing to Nigeria’s overall economic growth.“As well as launching an e-registration and certification portal to enhance transparency in the raw materials sector,” DG revealed.

He however reaffirmed his commitment to reshape the future of research, technology, and innovation, driving Nigeria towards an industrially vibrant and technologically resilient economy.

“As I mark 100 days in office, I boldly say that the Council is on the verge of rewriting its history.

“I believe that in no distant future, RMRDC will play a leading role in enhancing raw materials’ development to boost raw materials’ industrial trial processing and attain sustainable industrial growth in Nigeria.

The DG, however, applauded the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, for his unwavering support and mentorship, saying the Minister’s leadership has been instrumental in the progress made so far.

In his opening remarks, the Directorate of Corporate Affairs, Mr Chucks Ngaha commended the hard-working DG who has weathered the storm further to put the Council on the ladder of more prosperity.

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